Compound feeder



Nov. 23, 1937. P. D. BLANCHARD ET AL 2,099,836

COMPOUND FEEDER Filed 001:. 26, 1933 INVENTORS PhII/p 0 Blanchard a BY Charles R. Hardy w Km ATTORNEY E. ww 3 3 mm -l|- on a 8 vm N mm vm m 3 mm OW WW WW my wm \QN ii wm E vw mm 9 mv 3 mm wm ow L A? mm 1 Patented Nov. 23, 1937 2,099,836 COMPOUND FEEDER Philip D. Blanchard, Hammond, Ind., and Charles R. Hardy, Mount Vernon, N. Y., assignors to The Superheater Company, New York, N. Y.

Application October 26, 1933,'Serial No. 695,258

5 Claims.

Our invention relates to an arrangement for introducing measured quantities of anti-scaling compound into boiler feed water and aims to provide a novel and eflicient means for such purpose.

The present invention relates to the known type of apparatus having a conduit and including means for introducing anti-scaling compound into the water flowing in the conduit.

The novel features of the invention are pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention ithaving our compound feeding arrangement applied thereto.

The arrangement illustrated in the drawing includes a pump I0 having water cylinders l2, l2 and steam cylinders l4, l4. Pump ID has an inlet pipe I6 for feed water and an outlet pipe l8. Pipe l8 delivers the water from pump H] to a steam heated feed water heater Hi from which the preheated water is conducted by pipe 20 to a check valve 22 and an inlet plug 24 assumed to be in the side of a locomotive boiler not shown. Exhaust steam is supplied to the heater I9 from the engine cylinders (not shown) through a pipe 26. Exhaust steam from the pump cylinders I4 preferably also is conducted into the heater I9, a pipe 28 being shown for this purpose.

Pressure steam for operating the cylinders I4 is supplied by a pipe 29 having a throttle valve 38 therein.

In an arrangement of the character just outlined, the main purpose for supplying anti-scaling compound is to prevent incrustation of the water surfaces on the exhaust steam feed water heater 19.

For such purpose, we have provided and a restricted opening or choke 40.

When the valve 38 is closed, no water may flow through the conduit 32.

It will be seen, also, that valve 38 closes against the pressure and a spring 42 is provided adapted to hold valve 38 seated against the pressure in the boiler to which pump It) delivers feed water in case the check valve 22 should leak. The purpose of so holding the valve 38 against fluid from a leaky check valve will presently appear. It is intended, however, that valve 38 shall be open whenever pump ID is in operation and, to ensure that such will be the case, we provide a piston 44 connected to one end of the stem 46 of valve 38. Piston 44 works in a chamber within the casing 36 and, whenever pump lfl is working, piston 44 has steam pressure applied to one face thereof in a direction to overcome the spring 42. and open valve 38. Means for so supplying steam to the piston 44 comprises a pipe 49 extending from the steam pipe 29 to the chamber 36. Pipe 49 is connected to pipe 29 at a point between the valve 38 and the pump Ill so that, when valve 30 is open, steam is supplied to operate piston 44 in the manner described whereas, when valve 30 is closed to shut down pump ID, no steam is supplied to piston 44 and spring 42 then operates r to close valve 38 and hold it closed until another 7 period of operation of the pump Hi.

In the arrangement illustrated, the choke 40 is used to restrict the amount of water flowing through the conduit 32 to a small pre-determined amount. We do not, however, limit ourselves to a definite choke for limiting the rate of flow through conduit 32 as the same general result can be obtained by merely using a long length of pipe having a small internal diameter to give the conduit 2. high resistance toflow. Said choke, when used, can conveniently be placed in the same casing as the valve 38, as above indicated. By so doing, we find it feasible to guard against the clogging of the choke 48 by extending the spindle of valve 38 into the choke 48 as indicated at 46a. Therefore, whenever valve 38 is moved in one direction or the other by spring 42 or piston 44, the fluid in the choke 48 is agitated and any solid which may have lodged in such choke is disturbed and may be washed out by the water flowing therethrough. It will be seen. that the choke 48 serves to relieve the remainder of the conduit 32 of the high pressure from the line l8 when the pump is in operation while valve 38 relieves the remainder of the conduit from such pressure when the pump is shut down, pipe 34 and a portion of the casing 36 being the only elements of conduit always subject to the full pressure of pump or boiler.

From the casing 36, fluid which has passed the choke 48 is conducted by pipe 48 to a receptacle 50 within which is a chamber 52 for the antiscaling compound. In the arrangement illustrated, we have indicated the use of anti-scaling compound in the form of solid blocks or bricks 54 and water flowing through the chamber 52 dissolved from the blocks 54 some tannin or other anti-scaling compound to be used to prevent incrustation in the heater 19. As shown, water from pipe 48 enters the top of chamber 52 and is distributed by strainer plate 56 so as to flow evenly over the blocks 54. Water from chamber 52 carrying the anti-scaling compound is conducted from the bottom of such chamber by pipe 58 to the induction pipe l6 of pump l0, so that it is mingled with the stream going to the heater l9 and thence to the boiler. It will be seen that, for a given pressure between pipes l8 and I5 maintained by pump Ill, a choke 40- of a given size, or its equivalent resistance will cause a pre-determined flow of water through the conduit 32 and will therefore cause to be dissolved substantially constant quantities of compound from bricks 54 to produce a substantially constant strength of anti-scaling compound in water flowing through pipe Hi to the heater I9.

However, if the chamber 52 were so located that the bricks 54 would. stand under water when the pump I0 is shut down, they would dissolve more or less continuously to produce a highly concentrated solution in chamber 52 and such solution would be discharged to the heater l9 almost immediately upon starting of pump 10, thus causing a waste of anti-scaling material. It is an important feature of our invention to prevent such a result. For this purpose, the chamber 52 is placed above the highest level 60 attained by the water in the source to which the pipe I6 is connected. In the arrangement illustrated, such source is assumed to be a tank in the tender 62 of a locomotive. The chamber 52, moreover, is vented to atmosphere by pipe 64 which extends above the level 60 and contains a check valve 66 arranged to permit air from chamber 52 to escape to atmosphere when the tank in tender 62 is being filled and to normally maintain atmospheric pressure in the chamber 52, but to prevent suction of air through the vent pipe 64 under abnormal circumstances, suchas a partially choked line Hi. It will be seen that the bricks 54 are held normally above the water level in pipe 58 and are subject therefore, only to the dissolving action of the water which is sprinkled down on them from the plate 56, all water draining down below them when pump I0 is stopped.

What We claim is:

1. The combination of a boiler feed pump, a

source of supply therefor, and a compound feeding means associated therewith, said feeding means having a chamber for containing compound lying above the maximum level of said source of supply, and a conduit connecting the high pressure side of said pump to the low pressure side thereof in which said chamber is included for circulating feed water through the latter to prepare a water treating solution.

'2. The combination of a feed water pump, a source of supply for said pump, a chamber containing water treating compound, a conduit interconnecting the high and low pressure sides of said pumps and having said chamber interposed therein for circulating feed water therethrough to form a water treating solution, a valve in said conduit, means opening and closing said valve, a choke in said conduit, and means fixed to said Valve for agitating fiuid in said choke when the position of said valve is changed.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1 together with means for causing the chamber for containing compound to be drained whenever the feed pump is shut down.

4. The combination of a feed water pump, a source of supply for said pump, andlcompound feeding means associated therewith comprising a receptacle containing water treating compound, a conduit connected to said pump and receptacle for supplying feed water to the latter to-prepare a water treating solution from the compound therein, a valve controlling said'conduit and located therein between said pump and receptacle, means associated with said pump and said valve arranged to open said valve, whenever the pump is operating, and means for automatically closing; said valve when the pump is shut down.

5. The'combination of a feed water pump, a source of supply for said pump and compound feeding means, comprising a receptacle containing water treating compound, a conduit connecting the outlet side of said pump to the inlet side thereof and having said receptacle interposed therein for circulating feed water through said receptacle to prepare a water treating solution from the compound in the latter and return it to the inlet side of said pump, a valve controlling PHILIP D. BLANCHARD. CHARLES R. HARDY. 

